This is an interesting post to me, in regards to braking that is. I find it interesting that in the aussie bike training course we are taught to brake with the back, and use the front to help use come to a stop. In the situation of an emergency stop we are taught to ease into the brake with the back, then use both front and back w/ equal pressure to come to a stop. Over here it's regarded a 'no-no' to have the tire skid at all.

Please note that this is not a dig at the way riders are taught in the US but rather an observation.

 

Glad to hear you both made it through this horrible incident, and best wishes for you to get back in the saddle. Don't let that horse spook you!

Every situation is different.

However leaving the bike in gear and jamming on the rear brakes is just looking for trouble. You lock up your rear brakes with the clutch engaged and what do you think that does to your motor and drive train that's still spinning? And how could that forward continued motion of the drive train possibly aid in stopping?

And NEVER EVER hard brake the front brake or you will be kissing the road when it locks, skids and "throws" you off the bike.

There's a reason they're called accidents. Accident: Anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cause.

How can you plan for that. Practice your emergency condition response!

Practice! Using both brakes with the clutch released (not engaged) will give you the best control.

And during an emergency stop who has time to run through the gears down shifting and attempting to have the motor slow you down.

It's plain and simple USE THE BRAKES according to the conditions. Locking up any wheel will pitch you into some wicked fishtailing or an uncontrollable dropping of the bike.

Now I'm curious if anyone has a preference of laying the bike down to avoid a crash, or if in a split second you would eject yourself off the bike ... in other words is riding the bike into a crash wise or if possible would you let go, maybe even going airborne to soften the impact.

My wife tell me road rash is better than headlong into an obstacle, or "taking flight".

Guess most of the time we don't get a choice. ME I always attempt to foretell a problem possibility and make an effort to avoid it by slowing or looking for an "out".

 

Isn't it mandatory to take said course to get your license?

 

swerve, swerve, swerve. I know that this is a question about brakes but your best chance at accident avoidance is swerving.

 

Some folks are gonna do exactly what they are gonna do.

What I was taught, and what I teach is that there is never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never ever any reason to "lay the bike down". Laying the bike down means you intentionally wrecked to avoid an accident.

If you lay the bike down at 40mph, you are going to hit at 40mph. If you are lucky maybe you scrubbed off 1 or 2mph by sliding on your knees and elbows but you are really doing nothing. And when you hit, your body goes from 40mph to 0 in no time and no space. There is no decelleration. Futhermore you have no brakes to slow, no tires for traction, no visibility and no handlebars for control because you are on your butt. You have given up every bit of control.

Consider,.......if impact is imminent.....if you KNOW you are going to hit......if there is NO escaping it...... then brake. Use good threshold combination braking right up to impact to slow yourself down. I would rather hit the side of a car at 27mph than 40 mph. I would rather stand at home plate and get beaned with a 60mph pitch than a 90mph pitch.

The police did a survey of all the motorcops who were in accidents, and those who braked up to impact and went over suffered less injury than those who layed the bike down. They all suffered from a broken right wrist from keeping their hands on the brake up to impact, they all had bumps bruises and a maybe few broken bones, but as they were tumbing and sliding they are dispersing energy and decellerating and slowing down. Those that layed it over and went from 40 to 0 suffered worse injury as their organs were slammed against the side of their bodies and crushed. And the worse case scenario comes when the tires of a sliding a bike that was layed over catch the ground and catapault the rider over and he gets sandwitched between the bike the car they were trying to avoid. And you never know, at the last moment something may open up and perhaps you can swerve around, but you could never do that once you layed the bike over.

As for those who never use back brake, it might not be a bad idea to begin using it to help. Yes, the majority of the stopping power is up front, but why not use the rear too. If you had to jump off a sinking ship I imagine that you would would want your life preserver working at 100% capacity. So why not add some rear brake to the front and use 100% of your bikes braking capacity. With practice comes proficiency

Getting back on topinc, I don't think there is any motorcycle school that advocates laying the bike down as a viable option.

 

Sadly, in the USA no for a lot of states. All you have to do is pass the DMV test. And as a former MSF Rider Coach I can honestly say that just because a person completes the MSF Basic Rider Course, it does NOT mean they are ready to jump on a bike and ride off on the streets, roads and highways.

 

I agree whole heartedly. If one can avoid an accident by swerveing they should do so. However swerveing, like everything else needs to be practiced. I've seen too many riders swerve and brake at the same time and the results are ugly.

 

I'm running Avon Venom's .. I've been happy with them.. speaking of which its about time to replace the rear.. I'll probably go with another until I hear something about some tire that lets me take a turn at 1G and not loose traction..

As for the 2 of you.. glad to hear you OK.. it can get pretty scary when thing come out of nowhere.. last year I had to make fast stop and locked up both tires.. Was going back to work after lunch and didn't know that it had rained and in the shade of one raised railroad track the road hadn't had a chance to dry.. scared the @*#& out of me.. Moral of the story.. beware of shadows.. they lie.. LOL

Ride safe

 

This is a big FALSE. You need to practice using the front brake hard. Yes, you do not want to lock it up, but the MAJORITY of your braking power comes from the front. If you don't think that you can use the front brake hard you need to watch some videos of road racers. They will come into a braking area with the back wheel floating in the air. At that point ALL of their braking is being done by the front.

The key is practice. Practice emergency stops in a controlled environment. Practice squeezing the front brake, not "grabbing" it.

 

Actually they're referred to as "crashes". An "accident" is something that happens that you have no control over. It is something that is unpreventable. But if you lock up the rear brake and "crash" then it's not an "accident" because you could have prevented it by using both brakes. There are actually very few "accidents" involving vehicles since more often then not someone did something they shouldn't have.